How To Customize Your Iphone Home Screen For Ios 26’s Liquid Glass

1 month ago

The motorboat of Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 26, introduced a new creation connection called Liquid Glass. The interface makeover, 1 of Apple’s largest since nan displacement from skeumorphic to level creation successful 2013, adds a translucent, glass-like worldly to Apple’s software. This is utilized crossed iOS elements, for illustration buttons, sliders, media controls, switches, notifications, tab bars, app sidebars, and successful strategy experiences for illustration nan Control Center, Home Screen, Lock Screen, and more.

The creation itself is inspired by mixed-reality (AR/VR) devices for illustration nan Apple Vision Pro and is perchance gearing up for a early wherever nan OS does, successful fact, person to tally connected smart glasses — for illustration those Apple is reportedly building.

In nan meantime, nan changes unfastened nan doorway to caller ways to customize your astir individual device, your iPhone, pinch support for things for illustration clear icons, glassy widgets, a glassy typeface for nan Lock Screen pinch 3D photos, and more.

Below is simply a postulation of tips and tricks that will thief you get started customizing your iPhone to return advantage of nan caller Liquid Glass design.

Liquid Glass icons

One of nan biggest adjustments you tin make to your Home Screen is to alteration your icons’ style. Ever since nan preamble of iOS 14, which introduced widgets, users person been actively personalizing their Home Screen pinch civilization icons. Typically, this was done by creating a shortcut to a fixed app using Apple’s Shortcuts app, past uploading nan civilization icon location earlier adding nan shortcut to your Home Screen. Several iOS theming apps were besides updated to return advantage of this functionality, which made nan tedious process a spot easier by allowing you to prime which apps you wanted to customize successful bulk. These were past installed for you via a downloadable profile.

For those who didn’t want to jump done arsenic galore hoops, iOS 18 added nan ability to alteration each your icons to a caller colour strategy via a built-in tool. Plus, you could set your icons to show somewhat larger by removing nan matter explanation underneath.

With iOS 26, customization has been updated again pinch icons that tin look arsenic ray aliases acheronian glass, tinted glass, aliases moreover arsenic clear icons.

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While location were immoderate user complaints astir tinted icons successful iOS 18, nan characteristic has improved pinch nan Liquid Glass design; nan tint feels much subtle now. You tin besides usage nan eyedropper instrumentality to prime nan nonstop colour from your wallpaper to lucifer your icons and set sliders to further tweak nan colour aliases its opacity.

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If you’d alternatively conscionable skip this customization but still want a glassy look, you tin simply group your icons to “Clear” instead.

How to usage it: Press and clasp connected your Home Screen and pat connected “Customize” to participate customization mode. Tap nan various options to prime whether you want a light, dark, aliases automatically adjusting background, ample aliases mini icons, and whether you want your icons to look arsenic dark, clear, tinted, aliases pinch their default colors. Tap connected your Home Screen again erstwhile your customizations are complete.

Matched icons

If you spell caseless aliases usage a clear telephone case, you mightiness for illustration nan caller action to lucifer your iPhone’s icons to your instrumentality aliases case. This is disposable done nan “matched icons” characteristic successful iOS 26.

iOS 26 knows your iPhone’s SKU, which contains accusation that informs it of your exemplary and color. But if you want to lucifer your case, you person to usage nan charismatic Apple MagSafe cases.

How to usage it: To lucifer your icons to your phone, property and clasp connected your iPhone Home Screen to spell into jiggle mode, pat “Edit,” “Customize,” past “Tinted.” Underneath nan colour and opacity sliders, pat nan fastener that looks for illustration a small iPhone connected nan acold left. To lucifer nan lawsuit instead, property nan adjacent fastener to nan right.

Home surface wallpaper and layout

Your Lock Screen wallpaper and your Home Screen wallpaper don’t person to match, giving you a wide assortment of options for Home Screen customizations. But earlier you spell to group your canine aliases feline arsenic your inheritance again, return a infinitesimal to browse nan web for immoderate glassier inspirations.

Pinterest remains a bully assets for free ideas, wherever you tin look for wallpapers pinch hunt position for illustration “Liquid Glass wallpaper” aliases “iOS 26 wallpaper,” for instance.

Another action is to usage third-party iOS theming apps. There are tons of these connected nan App Store, but beryllium warned that these apps are almost ever subscription-based aliases overloaded pinch ads, if there’s a free version. If you’re caller to this world, immoderate that I regularly return to (and moreover salary for astatine times) see Brass, Color Themes, Screenkit, Themify, Wallaroo, and Widgetsmith.

Home surface customization is besides a bully clip to support a favourite artist. Many artists connection wallpaper packs for waste done their Patreon aliases beforehand their downloads connected their societal media. Searching for “iOS wallpaper” and related position connected sites for illustration X and Threads could constituent you to immoderate ideas. Similarly, users often show disconnected their designs connected ocular mediums for illustration Instagram and TikTok. (I’m presently obsessed pinch these bright, colorful, and watery flower prints!)

Remember besides that iOS 18 introduced a measurement to put your icons and widgets anyplace you want connected nan Home Screen, allowing you to time off blank spaces successful betwixt them. This tin beryllium useful, particularly if you don’t want to obscure immoderate portion of your wallpaper. However, nan icons will still beryllium locked to an invisible grid strategy to support nan surface looking orderly.

How to usage it: To alteration your wallpaper, property and clasp connected your Home Screen until nan icons jiggle, past pat “Edit,” and “Edit Wallpaper” from nan paper that appears. You tin besides alteration your wallpaper from its ain conception wrong nan settings app. To move icons, property and clasp connected your Home Screen until they wiggle, past resistance and driblet them wherever you want them to sit.

While widgets themselves aren’t new, iOS 26 gives them a glassy look-and-feel, which whitethorn animate you to springiness your Home Screen a makeover.

Instead of utilizing your apps’ built-in widgets, now glassified, you tin besides move to third-party resources to find widgets. Brass, Color Themes, Screenkit, Themify, Widgetsmith, and Launcher are among those connected my iPhone.

I besides for illustration nan widget apps from nan developer MD Studio — particularly nan 1 that puts a small vinyl grounds player connected your Home Screen. For a much modern look, Not Boring besides makes its ain alternatives to nan iPhone’s default apps, for illustration those for nan camera, calculator, weather, timer, and more, which travel pinch their ain widgets. Music app Airbuds has a nosy widget arsenic well.

A much precocious celebrated prime is Dynamic-Lyrics, which puts unrecorded lyrics connected your Lock Screen, Dynamic Island, aliases Home Screen.

You tin besides take to create and customize widgets of your ain pinch Widgy. The app is 1 of nan bigger resources retired location for widget customization, too nan different theming apps linked above. With Widgy, anyone, moreover those without creation skills, tin create their ain civilization widget by adding elements, changing nan colors and effects, connecting a information source, and more.

You tin besides browse done widgets others person made for inspiration and past import them for your ain use.

Some designers besides waste Widgy widget collections from their ain websites. This tin get a small trickier because of nan other steps involved, but nan extremity consequence tin beryllium worthy nan effort. For example, I conscionable bought this “glass glossy” Widgy widget collection to adhd immoderate unsocial civilization widgets to my Home Screen. But unless you’re acquainted pinch really theming apps work, it could beryllium a spot intimidating to get started.

How to use: First, you’ll want to download nan purchased widget zip record to nan Apple Files files connected your iPhone aliases your iCloud Drive. (This mightiness beryllium easier to do if you make nan acquisition from your iPhone.) Tap to unzip nan app if it’s compressed.

Open nan Widgy app you’ve already installed from nan App Store and spell to nan first tab, “Create.” Here you’ll pat “Import,” past nan action to “import .widgy File from Files.” (Unless you saved nan record successful nan Widgy files that’s created connected your phone, you’ll person to browse to wherever you primitively downloaded nan files.) After you find nan record aliases files you want to import, pat connected it to propulsion it into Widgy.

From Widgy’s “Manage” tab, you’ll pat connected nan disposable widgets included pinch your download. To person it lucifer your wallpaper, pat “Set up Transparency” and upload screenshots of your wallpaper successful ray and acheronian mode snapped from a blank page of nan Home Screen itself. Each widget tin past beryllium further customized successful this section. When you pat connected an individual widget to customize it, you’ll besides person to group up nan widget position (meaning wherever connected nan Home Screen it sits).

After nan widget is saved, you adhd it to your Home Screen utilizing nan normal process: pat and clasp Home Screen to participate jiggle mode, pat “Edit,” “Add Widget,” Widgy, and past scroll done nan options and prime nan widget you created.

Liquid Glass Lock Screen

On nan iPhone’s Lock Screen, Liquid Glass will now show nan clip successful a glassy, San Francisco typeface that will dynamically accommodate its weight, width, and tallness depending connected nan image connected nan surface and your notifications to support your photo’s taxable successful view.

However, nan champion portion whitethorn beryllium nan Lock Screen’s caller Spatial Scenes, which springiness your iPhone’s wallpaper a 3D effect. This characteristic leverages machine imagination techniques moving connected a neural motor to move your 2D photos into a 3D image. You tin do this connected older pictures aliases those taken connected different cameras, excessively — you don’t request to bargain nan caller iPhone 17 to return advantage of nan addition.

How to usage it: Press and clasp connected nan Lock Screen, past pat Customize. Browse your photos until you find an image you for illustration for your wallpaper. After adding it, make judge you pat connected nan caller Spatial Scene fastener to alteration nan 3D effect. This is connected nan correct broadside of nan Lock Screen’s customization page. The fastener to nan correct of it besides lets you further configure your Lock Screen’s wallpaper settings, for illustration having it shuffle done different photos connected a schedule aliases pinch a tap.